"Oikonomia" and “Commerce” in the Spanish Version of the "Journal Oeconomique": the Graef´s "Discursos Mercuriales" (1752-1756)

Abstract

The Mercurial Discourses (1752-1756) written by Juan Enrique Graef occupy an eminent place in the history of the Spanish Enlightenment journalism. This work possesses an unquestionable pioneering character, which reaches both structural and content aspects. This article analyzes the economic thought reflected in the Mercurial Discourses, aiming at evaluating its role in the emergency process of the Political Economy in the Spanish Enlightenment. This article shows that the referred newspaper was essentially a version of a French journal entitled Journal Oeconomique. The Mercurial Discourses mostly reflects the economic content of this French journal, related to the traditional oikonomia or oeconomie. However, at the same time, the Graef’s initiative has reflected a number of pioneering reflections on the “science of commerce” that was taking shape in France around the Gournay´s circle. Graef, for the first time in the Spanish Enlightenment, recognized that the “commerce” had become a science that was governed by its own genuine rules, and he strongly defended his adaptation to the Spanish Monarchy´s reality.